Auschwitz and Birkenaeu, Day 5: 6/14/2013
Today was a quiet day, but perhaps the most humbling. We traveled a lot. We left Prague at 7:30 and drove for five hours. We stopped at a little place somewhere in Poland and had lunch. I had potatoes, sausage and cabbage, and fermented wheat soup (which sounds disgusting but is delicious!). Then we continued traveling for about an hour and half until we arrived at Auschwitz. I don't know how to put the experience into words. All I know is I left with the feeling that it was all surreal, and impossible to comprehend. Seeing the room filled with the hair of some prisoners was absolutely insane and made it real. But seeing the small baby clothes are what really pulled at my heartstrings. I can't even think about small, innocent children being killed, their lives being cut short of so much opportunity. It's a numbing experience for sure. The camp was not what I though it would look like though. It was almost like a small community. There were trees and grass planted to make it seem less disheartening. The bus ride over to Birkenaeu was silent. Birkenaeu was exactly how I pictured a concentration camp. Seeing the camps made the Holocaust seem a lot more real and made me so mad that something so horrible happened to innocent people. After the camps, we traveled to Krakow. Dinner was amazing, and by far my favorite! We had pierogis! The city was absolutely beautiful, probably my favorite :) I'm rooming with Maya and Jess. We played BS and Go Fish in the hallway with Brenden, Maddison, and Mackenzie. Some Polish people came and made fun of us. They literally came out in the hall, pointed, and laughed. Jessica's armpits got dyed green because of her shirt, it was hilarious! I'm so excited for our day in Krakow tomorrow because I am in LOVE with the city!
#brendensucksatBS
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| the tour guide told us it's never sunny in this part of town. i don't think that's a coincidence |
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| "Arbeit Macht Frei" -Work makes you free |
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| 7 TONS of female hair found when the camp was liberated in spring 1945. we weren't allowed to take pictures, but i felt like it was necessary to share. source |
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| baggage of prisoners |
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| the crematorium |
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| weeping willows. only the most appropriate trees for such a somber place. |
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| birkenaeu |
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| you can read a million books, watch a thousand movies, and do all the research in the world but the horrible reality of the holocaust can only truly be realized once you visit auschwitz and birkenaeu. |
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| to lighten the mood... we all sleep on the bus |
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| beautiful krakow. |
xo
Hannah
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